Climate-change activist Greta Thunberg is one of five finalists for Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019.
Thunberg, 16, became an international celebrity this year after sailing from England to New York to attend the United Nations Conference instead of flying because she said planes are harmful to the environment.
Her activism has galvanized politicians and organizations fighting for more aggressive climate-change regulation. Thousands of people attended a climate protest march she led in Montreal, including Canadian President Justin Trudeau.
A native of Sweden, Thunberg’s impassioned speech during a climate change session at the U.N., was a viral sensation on social media and cable news networks around the world.
[Read more: Huge Greta Thunberg mural going up in San Francisco]
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school, on the other side of the ocean,” she lectured the world leaders gathered at the conference. “Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!”
Some conservatives have criticized Thunberg’s parents for using their highly-articulate daughter as a prop to forward a political cause.
Also on Time‘s list for Person of the Year 2019 is President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the intelligence community whistleblower whose report sparked impeachment proceedings into Trump.
Time is slated to reveal the winner of the annual award on Wednesday morning.
